Vane went flying back. He went down easily. He coughed blood on the ground.
Everything inside me stilled. I stilled.
He was dying. Blood jammed the chambers of my heart, but couldn’t flow. My body refused to pump it.
“Ryan,” Vane croaked.
Blood forced its way through my arteries. I ran from my hiding place. More soldiers tried to tackle me. Grey and Gia fought them off, but they kept coming. I dodged past them to reach Vane. I dropped down next to him, my cheeks wet and dirty.
Matt held the Kronos Eye in his palm. “The water’s been drained from the crystal.”
“I took it earlier.” Vane laughed weakly. “Once the monster gathers enough energy, I’ll let go. Then, you can take the monster without flaming out.”
On the slab, the apple stirred.
“It’s time, Merlin,” Vane said. “Just like you wanted.”
Matt knelt down on his brother’s other side. “This was never what I wanted.”
It was the vision. The sky burned above us, displaying a magnificent and deadly aurora. Wind swirled through the stone circle.
We sat on either side as Vane closed his eyes.
The apple rose fully in the air.
Matt picked up the trident from Vane’s side. He leaned on it. I snatched the Dragon’s Eye dangling from Matt’s pocket.
“Vane,” I sobbed. “Why didn’t you tell me your plan?”
“Ryan.” The word, my name, held a wealth of longing. Then, it sharpened. Vane’s voice reverberated in my head. “Tell me you trust me, Ryan.”
“You know I do.” I said.
“Then, look for the answer. Inside Merlin. Look now. You’re the only one he’ll let in. His defenses are low. He won’t stop you. And remember, no matter what—you can bear it.”
I looked. Using the Dragon’s Eye, I walked into Matt’s mind. I had no idea what I was looking for, only that I desperately sought it. A vision of a cottage stood before me. It was the same cottage as Vane’s vision. Only this time, I saw it through Matt’s eyes. I saw the Lady. She had green eyes. She smiled at me. She sat at the table with a knife and a potato.
“Which would you choose, Merlin?” she asked. “To save your brother or save everyone.”
“My brother,” I answered without hesitation.
“I know,” she said softly. “That’s why I did what I did. Why I had to send him away. I hope you will understand someday.”
She put the knife on the potato. “Remember this, Merlin. Whole, it can keep one full. Cut it and it will feed us all a little bit. Cut it and the risk to you is great. Keep it whole and the risk to everyone else is great. Either way a choice must be made.”
The Lady cut the potato in half. Only it was no longer a potato.
A choice must be made.
And I had my answer.
The secret the Lady had only unconsciously revealed to Merlin. The one deemed too risky. The one Poseidon had known.
I opened my eyes.
Above us, the sky turned red. The Fury would be upon us soon.
Matt picked up the trident. He hit the ground with it as I reached Excalibur.
The ground cracked and rumbled. A mist began to form around the gates.
My hands closed around Excalibur.
“Ryan,” Matt yelled. “What are you doing?”
“I’m finding another way.” I grabbed Excalibur out of the rock.
The mist died. The gates never opened. The apple fell.
“No!” Matt lunged for me.
It was too late. I brought Excalibur smashing down on the golden apple.
In that moment, I gambled. Because that’s how we lived. I risked the entire human race on one belief—for a few to survive wasn’t enough. To simply survive wasn’t enough.
The apple exploded. Spots of black and white sparkled out of the apple’s hollow middle like fairy lights.
The sky screamed as the Fury neared.
“Matt,” I cried.
He stood frozen, looking at the destroyed apple.
The Dragon’s Eye heated in my hand. I called to the monster. It rose.
Vane’s body shuddered as the monster took over.
“It’s time,” I told the monster.
It roared. The fairy lights floated all around us. The exotic particles from the apple spread farther and farther up in the air. It took seconds. Precious ones while no one evacuated. The gates, the passage out, remained silent and closed. Far away energy spiked in our yellow sun, causing the monster’s energy to spike and spill. Around us, the fairy lights changed. The whole planet stood suspended in space for a moment.
Then in the span of a wink, the earth disappeared.
Like a two-dimensional character suddenly thrust into a three-dimensional world,